


when I have the time

by calixte



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Entirely Self-Indulgent, F/M, Not Beta Read, blatant canon divergence, quarantine fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:08:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24990577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calixte/pseuds/calixte
Summary: Snippets of things that happen while Eve is living out quarantine in Malcolm's loft. This is shamelessly self-indulgent and I don’t care, it makes me happy. Eve isn’t dead, blatantly canon-divergent, etc, etc, whatever. We need some fluff.
Relationships: Eve Blanchard/Malcolm Bright
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> for my darling may

It’s day…too many of the city lockdown, and Eve had decided, somewhat recklessly, to spend it with Malcolm at his place. There was a guest bed upstairs, and that was where she slept most of the time to avoid Malcolm’s nightmares after they’d spent enough time together and dozed off. (Sometimes there was...some physical help to that, but neither of them had been counting that.) Sunshine was spending her days giddily winging around the apartment, and she’d taken to landing on Eve’s shoulder to peep cheerfully and click her tiny beak at her earrings. 

But it wasn’t the same; Eve missed being outside, missed *everything* about being a New Yorker. Going to the bodega around the corner, going out to eat, watching the sun set down over the city from the Brooklyn Bridge or Central Park. She’d been laying on his couch playing with the parakeet by waving a millet stalk for the bird to peck seeds from, making her hop and flutter her way up to Eve’s chin for playful kisses. “Hey, little girl,” she cooed, “Come here, come to mom. You want to get a bath? Play in the water?” 

Malcolm, sitting at his desk, smiled gently watching his girls chatter back and forth as he set his chin in his hand, laying aside a pen with a turn of his wrist. While Eve carefully sat up with Sunshine on her hand to run the tap and let the bird fluff herself under it, Malcolm chuckled. “You know there’s a pool upstairs,” he murmured as Eve giggled from the splashes of water flung onto her. _That_ got Eve’s attention and a dazzling bewildered smile.

“You never told me you had a pool!” she cried, feigning accusation--though it was ruined by the laughter in her voice. “What are you still doing sitting down here? Come on!” She didn’t wait to scoop up Sunshine and take Malcolm’s wrist, pushing him toward the stairs as he laughed--he had to, Eve’s joy at something finally breaking the dreadful monotony was terribly contagious--and acquiesced. 

“Alright, alright. But you don’t have a suit,” Malcolm protested. Eve had brought enough clothes to fill his guest closet, and he loved all of them on her, from her businesslike tailored skirts and blouses to the casual swingy dresses she wore on days like this, to sometimes even the nothing-but-lingerie and a robe, when they didn’t bother getting out of bed for hours. She just gave him a _look_ , stern but playful and brooking no further argument from him. He didn’t even try, just pointed the way up the stairs. They’d seen enough of each other, he supposed he wouldn’t mind; there was hardly a point to adding to their laundry pile with just the two of them there. 

The pool was saltwater, safe for Sunshine as Eve gently transferred the bird to Malcolm’s shoulder before peeling out of her dress and brassiere and lacy underwear. The water hardly made a sound when she slid in, enveloping her like the most attentive and thorough of lovers, scooping her hair back and calling the parakeet to her hand, held just under the water’s surface. Eve smiled up at him and helped Sunshine preen, fingertips playing over the delicate feather ends.

“Are you going to join your girls?”


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> spa day

Malcolm lays back on his couch with a soft sigh as he relaxed, his head in Eve’s lap as she carefully--fastidiously, in fact--applied gel cutouts under his eyes. They were cold enough to have him flinching, but Eve just put a warm hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, just leave them on. They’re just gel, it’ll help with those bags,” she teased. “You have shadows under your eyes a pack of psycho killers could hide in.” He snorted, nose wrinkling while she opened a jar of something vaguely fruity-smelling. 

“Oh, ouch,” he teased back, cracking an eye open to look up at her. “Many male serial killers actually do take care of themselves--The Surgeon himself wasn’t terribly bad-looking--it’s how they capture their victims and earn their…trust...” 

Eve’s eyebrows were dangerously close to her hairline, almost laughing as she took his chin in strong, capable fingers, tilting his face as she smeared a face mask on his cheek. “Stop talking before this ends up somewhere you don’t want it,” she teased. He laughed, and sputtered when the tiny spatula in Eve’s hand swiped over his tongue. 

“God, that doesn’t taste like plums _at all_ ,” he managed, wiping his tongue off frantically with the edge of a towel. 

“It’s not supposed to taste like it!” Eve giggled, letting him sit up and, once he’d had enough time to breathe, slid astride his lap. “Now tilt your head back so I can finish putting this on.” 

Malcolm smiled--kept his lips sealed this time--and slid his hands down to Eve’s waist, smoothing over her clothes and breathing in the smell of his conditioner on her hair as she leaned over him to apply the clay mask. “So what else do you have plans for, now that you’ve got me here?” he asked, voice low and gentle. He had a few ideas himself, should she not come up with anything on her own. 

“Oh,” she singsonged, “Probably a hair mask, maybe a pedicure. Go wild, drink a smoothie,” Eve suggested innocently, dragging her fingertips down his sides and leaning in to peck his lips before sitting up. “You stay there, and close your eyes....and you’ll figure it out. You’re a smart boy.” She backed off his lap, and Malcolm could hear her footsteps padding away towards the kitchen behind him. If he stopped thinking about the virus, and the uncomfortable limitations put on the city he lived in, it was almost nice to stay indoors with his girlfriend having a spa day. 

He’d already painted her nails, admirably steady-handed with the tiny polish brush as he applied the layers of pink, named a heart-attack-inducing _You Only Live Twice_. Eve had just laughed, and insisted on watching Casino Royale, cuddled up to him on the couch. She’d even been kind when he started to squirm at the carpet beater, simply pushing the fast-forward button on the remote as she tilted his head down for a kiss that lasted the whole scene. 

Malcolm was surprised when he felt her fingers drag over his shoulders, eyes he didn’t remember closing popping open as he smiled up at her, glass in her hand filled with something strawberry red. He reached up to take it, but Eve danced out of his reach, prompting him to follow with a grin.


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this one went long, but sunshine content makes me happy. sue me.

Sunshine did not take easily to Eve. She rather hated the blonde, and wouldn’t so much as trill at her, much less land on her or take a millet stalk, even when Malcolm had offered it first. She kept her feathers fluffed and her beak ready to pinch and bite when the new human came into _Mama’s space_ , took up _her_ special time with Malcolm and made him keep her in the cage at first. 

Sunshine knew everything about her Mama, knew his habits and what he could eat and when, knew how bad his nightmares were and could soothe him when he woke up all damp and sweaty and needed the familiar touch of her beak on his nose, brushing and gently nipping to bring him back to reality. To _her_. She hated the woman that had stepped in and tried to take over, when she made Mama sick with the wrong food and kept him up and made him cry and moan with whatever she was doing with her head under his blanket. 

She’d shriek and trill and fluff, banging around her little cage to distract them until either Mama let her out, or the blonde woman left. Once she stopped _touching_ and _kissing_ and _stealing_ her Malcolm, her Mama. 

It took weeks upon weeks, but when the blonde came to stay and didn’t leave, Sunshine began very slowly to unbend. She stopped nipping her fingers, though she still turned her back on the woman when she could, huffing and almost aggressively loving on Malcolm. Sunshine woke to the gentle sounds of someone moving things around in the kitchen--not Mama, she’d have heard him shout when waking, and would have called to him--and flapped her wings, wobbling on her perch. 

That _witch_ was stealing from Mama! She had to wake him up. 

She came closer, ignoring Sunshine’s noise and flapping, even putting her fingertips to the bars in spite of being clicked at and scraped by her beak, shushing her gently. _What right did this human have?!_

“Hey, hey, little girl, it’s okay,” she murmured, voice still soft and sleepy. “Sshh, shh, you’ll wake him up. It’s okay, Malcolm’s sleeping, I didn’t hurt him.”

The nerve! Sunshine clacked again and shrieked, wings buffeting the bars of her cage. She didn’t believe the woman, she’d seen how sad Mama looked before nighttime feeding! 

“No, no, calm down, I promise it’s okay,” the blonde human murmured. “Look, see,” she said, pointing back to the bed. “Look, Mal--” She stopped. Malcolm never referred to himself by name to his bird. Eve had an idea, and smiled. “Mama’s okay. You want to come and see? Come on, let me open this up, you can make sure, little girl.” Eve’s hands weren’t the steadiest when they opened the cage, but Sunshine didn’t dive-bomb her head this time, only winged toward Malcolm’s bed, perching on his pillow to make sure he was safe. 

Mama was breathing steadily, face relaxed and...peaceful. 

She looked back over at the blonde human--who wasn’t speaking or yelling or saying nasty things about her like Mama’s very screechy friend who came in without asking--or the older pepper-faced human who was kinder and gave her nice sunflower seed treats.

“Mama’s okay,” the blonde repeated softly, not moving closer. “Do you want to come eat breakfast with me? Come eat with Eve?” she suggested, picking up her food bowl and unclipping it from her cage bars. “Breakfast, come on.” 

If she could have rolled her eyes, she would have. She wasn’t a _dog_ , she didn’t need to be reminded what breakfast was. 

But maybe food would help. It was still early, too early for the music Mama played to wake him up; Sunshine flapped over to the kitchen island where the human had a stalk of millet seed in her fingers. She didn’t try to pet, either, as the seeds were picked out and eaten up. Just watched. 

“I’m Eve. I’m Mama’s friend. I want to help him.” 

Sunshine did not take easily to Eve. It took weeks upon weeks, but slowly, oh-so-slowly, she started to unbend. Maybe the blonde human was right. Maybe she did want to help Mama. Mama smiled more with her around, had a little more rest at night, started to eat a little more when Eve got things out of the freezer that went in that horrid buzzy contraption in the kitchen. 

But one day, while Mama and his friend were tossing popcorn at each other and watching a movie, she flapped down on Eve’s shoulder, walking up until she could very gently take the human’s earlobe in her beak and tug, peeping quietly. 

Mama smiled, and offered his hand; Sunshine would never turn that down. His soft laugh as he stroked fingers over her back made her trill and fluff and preen, happy as the day she had hatched. “Looks like you’ve got Mama and Mom now, haven’t you, Sunshine?”


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nothin' but smut. there might be a plot if you squint.

He made love with his entire body; her legs hooked over his shoulders, her head laid back on the couch, muscles quivering. Malcolm loved it. He loved seeing Eve so close to coming undone, eyes fallen shut and her lip between her teeth as he licked her, scattering gentle bites up the insides of her thighs. She was absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous with her fingers curled tight, only just aware enough to keep from digging her nails into the leather. 

He’d have laughed if she had; seeing her happy was worth it. His free hand splayed on her bare belly, the other wrapped around her hip where he held her still as his tongue lapped at her and into her, over and over. Eve made the most erotic sounds, held in check only by her hand over her mouth, trembling when Malcolm slid two fingers inside her. Her back arched as he stroked her gently, rubbing the pad of his thumb over her clit. Eve bucked when he did it, pressing enough to make her toes curl--painted a pretty, beachy yellow only the day before, from Malcolm himself. It had gone with her swimsuit. 

“Stop, stop, Malcolm stop--” she hissed out, voice sighing as he eased off; her legs were starting to tremble, muscles tight. Malcolm couldn’t deny it was hot and let her down, stroking his hands over her waist with a quiet susurrus of reassuring words. She relaxed the hand she’d hand cupped behind his neck, brushed his almost-dry hair back from his face--that _beautiful face_ \--and tried a hazy smile, unable to stop a bubble of bright laughter. “Don’t want it to end too soon.” He sat up, brushing his fingers over his mouth before he surged up to kiss her, crawling onto the couch and into her lap. 

Eve smiled and caught him in another kiss right after he broke away to breathe. Her teeth bit down gently on his lip, already red and swollen and so delicious. She guided his hands around to her back, feeling his fingers skillfully working at the hooks and eyes up the back of her swimsuit top holding it closed. “You know, when I said I needed help out of my suit, this isn’t…necessarily what I meant!” Her voice rose into a squeal when he popped the last one free, clasping her forearm over her chest to keep the sticky, damp fabric from coming off. 

“Oh, so you _don’t_ want my help?” he teased, eyebrows lifting in a silly expression as he tugged gently at the shoulder strap. He leaned back on her thighs, moving to get up before she caught his arm, shaking her head. 

“I’ll make you a deal,” Eve murmured playfully. “I let you take it off, and you help me with my hair in the shower, hmm?” 

Malcolm broke into a grin as he curled his fingers around the fabric, pulling it free; it landed near the rest of their respective swimwear with a wet noise. He couldn’t care less about the puddle it would make, not when Eve was right in front of him, pale and gorgeous skin completely unhidden by clothes. “Deal,” he replied softly, standing and offering his hands to her. “Come on. Shower,” he urged with a smile.

“I’ll help with whatever you want.”


End file.
